Fishhook



Feb. 6, 1940. w. o. MAURER FISHHOOK Filed Dec. 2:5, 1958 3 wu c/wfm MA URER Gama-44 s Patented Feb. 6, 1940 UNITED STATES .FISHHOOK William .MaurerQCincinnati, Ohio, as'signor v to George H. Hutafi, ;Jr., Wilmington, N. G. Application Decembe1i23, 1938, Serial No. 247,472

,- 10 Claims (01. 4349) My invention relates to new and useful im provements in a fishhook or snare and has for its principal object the provision of a device of the character described which is relatively simple and inexpensive. in construction while at the same time being efficient in'its operation for the work required.

A further object of the invention resides in theprovision of a fishhook or snare in which;

[0 a plurality of gripping jaws or arms-are operated or moved into gripping position by a pull on the line and bait hook, the member to which the bait hook is connected being adapted to move'relative to the member to which the is attached. 1

Another object of the invention consists in the provision of a device of the character de scribed in which .the gripping jaws or'arms are normally positioned to permit a fish to grab operated or drawn into engaging position by pulling on the bait hook or line, the jaws or arms being provided at their normally free ends with relatively sharp hook portions adapted to be engaged in the fish. i

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of spring means normally positioning the parts so that the gripping arms or jaws are held in what might be termed spread or inoperative position, the normal positonof the spring means being overcome when a pull is placed on the bait hook or line so as to changes may be made as will fall within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 is a side elevation with the gripping jaws or arms shown in their spread position by full lines and in their gripping positions in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a fragmental transverse vertica section with parts shown in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

55 Fig. i is a side elevation of a slightly modified line the bait carried by the bait hook but which are illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

form of the invention with the gripping arms or jaws shown in their normal positions by full: lines andin their gripping positions by dotted.. lines.

parts shown inside elevation and parts removed; 1 v

and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the'line:66 of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows.

In that form of the invention shown in Figs; 1, 2 and .3 of the drawing the gripping jaws or arms areadapted to normally be held in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, but when parts are operated in a manner to be later de-, scribed the arms or jaws. will be swung into the grip-ping positions shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. In that form of the invention disclosedv in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing a casing or: housing open at what may be termed its lower or inner end is shown at l and is formed on :0; what might be termed its upper or outer end with a knob or projection 2having the transverse opening 3 in which one end of the line 4 is adapted to be attached, as shown quite clearly in Fig. 1;

Inserted in the open I end of the casing or housing I is the shank portion 5 of the member 6 having outwardly'directed horizontal lugsor ears indicated at 1, the ears of each pair being spaced apart slightly to receive the upper ends 8 of the gripping jaws or arms I. 'Each pair to through the end 8 of the associated arms 1 whereby the arms are pivotally connected to. the ears for swinging movement as will be later .35.v brought out. Adjacent its pivot point each of the arms or jaws is curved outwardly as shown at H to provide what might be termed a normally horizontally extending edge portion l2 adapted to be engaged by a plate I3 having the circumferentially spacedfopenings l4 through which the arms or jaws extend as is quite clearly Each of the openings I4 is formed withthe oppositely disposed beveled-surfaces l5 and I6 fora purpose 45, which will be later brought out.

Carried by the plate I3 is an upwardly directed rod ll whichis formed on what might be termed its loweror outer end with a projection l 8-having an opening l9 therein, this opening l9 providing means for connecting the bait hook 20 to the rod. As'shown more particularly in Fig. 2 of the drawing the rod I1 is connectedto the plate. l3 by 'passing the same through an opening in the plate and I ofisetting portions to provide the collars 2| and Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section withyst 22. The rod I1 is slidable through the member 6 and extends into the casing or housing I. The shank portion of the member 6 is formed with the pocket or recess 23 to receive the lower end 5 of the coiled spring 24 which surrounds the rod H, the upper end of the coiled spring being engaged by the transversely extending pin passingthrough an opening in the rod I7, adjacent its upper ..or..inner end... The .coiled spring norl0 mally holds the rodin its inner-most position with the plate l3 engaging the end of the memher 6 and the arms or jaws I spread apart as 3 shown more particularly by full lines in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

In that form of the invention just described it will be understood that bait-will be car-rieclby the hook 20 and when a fish grabs the hook and starts to pull away the line i willbecome taut to hold the casing or housing I. Further pull onthe 20 hook 20 will draw the plate l3 outwardly and place the .coiled. spring-.24 under tension. The movement of the plate l3 will swing the gripping arms or jaws .intothe dotted 'lineposition shown. in Fig. 1, it being understood that the beveled I edgev portions l5 ..of.. the openings l4 will ride over the outer edges ofthe arms or jaws .7. When: pull is released the spring 24 will return the parts to their IlOl'HlfiLpOSitiOIlS it beingunderstoodthat the-beveled edge portions .15 of the openings I 4 will engagethe curvedportions 2620f the arms or jaws I to swing the same outwardly. into their full line positions. shown in Fig. 1. Theshank portion 5 of the member 6 will be held inthe casing or housing'l bymeans of the. screw 21 or' "other suitable fastening.

In that formiof the invention disclosed in Figs.

4 to.6 inclusive of the drawing a casing or housing is provided .and is shown as formed of .the. sections 28 and 29 normally secured together with migthe threaded connectionshown at 3B. The upper or outer end of the section 29 is closed and formed with the opening-3t through which the end-of the line 32 passes and is knotted as shown at 33.

Whatmight be termed the lower-:or. outer end of :the section 28 is interiorly threaded asshown at 34 to receive the threaded shank portion 35. of the member 36'formed with the outwardly directed circumferentially spaced pairs of ears 31- formed'with the transversely extendingopenings .38.. Positioned between-the ears of each pair'3'l is the oneend 39 of: the gripping arms or jaws 40, the ends of the arms or jaws being pivotally: connected to the ears by the transversely extending pins 4| which pass through the openings 38.. Normally the arms or .jaws4ihwill extend vertically, as shown more particularly in Fig. 4 of the drawing, one edge portion-of each of the jaws being-outwardly curvedas shown at 42 to fit into the dished portion 43 of the section 28'of the .casing or housing. Each of the arms or jaws is formed on that end opposite to its pivoted end with-a hooked portion 44.

A rod 45 is slidably mounted in the member 35 and its shank portion 35and is provided on its inner end, which projecwinto the casing or housing, with a ring 46 which forms an enlargement adapted to engage the inner end of the section 29 of the casing or housing as is quite clearly illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawing. A coiled spring 41 surrounds the inner end of the rod 45, between the ring 46 and the end of the shank 35 of the member 36, this coiledspring normally urging the rod inwardly with the ring 46 in engagement with the end of thesection 29 of the housing or casing.

Connected to the outerend of the rod is a.

plate 48 having the outwardly directed pairs of ears shown at 49, the ears being provided with the transversely extending openings 50 to receive the pins 5| which pivotally connect the links 52 to the ears, the links being arranged in pairs, as 5 shown more particularly in Fig. 6 of the drawing to straddle the ears of the separate pairs and to receive therebetween the lower ends of the arms or jaws 40as is more clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawing, the links in turn being pivotally connected to the arms or jaws by the transversely extending pins 53. The links 52 are of the curved formation shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 5;".of the drawing so that when the rod 45 is slid outwardly with respect to the casing or hous- 15 'ingyit .will' carry with it the plate 48 and links 52, the'downward pull on the links 52 drawing the arms .ortjaws 40 outwardly and swinging them downwardly into the dotted line positions shown more particularly in Fig. 4 of the drawing. When inthedotted line positions. the. hook portions 44 of ,thearmsbr jaws :Will engage and hold the fish. The. parts will be returnedto their normal full line positions through' means of the coiled spring 41. The outer end of the rod 45 is formed with the projection 54-having. an eye to receive the eye portion 55 of the bait hook 56. In use the fish will snap the bait carried by the bait hook 56 and when it starts to move away will draw outwardly on the rod 45, the line 32 being placed under tension.-

It will be noted that. in each form'of the invention disclosed the gripping arms or jaws are normally held in position so that they will not interfere with a fish grabbing the bait on the bait hook. At the same time each form of the invention includes a housing or casing having a member connected thereto and forming pivotal means for theends of the gripping arms or jaws, the the gripping. arms or jaws being operated by a plateror member carriedby a rodwhich is operable in the member carried by the casing or housing, With the construction disclosed the parts may bereadily. assembled or disassembled making it possible to construct thedevice in a simple inexpensive manner and aid in performing the worker functions which havebeen described above.

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A fishhook including a housing, gripping jaws pivotally connected to the housing, a rod slidably mounted relative to the housing, a spring positioned within the housing, for normally holding the rod in-its inner-most position, and a member carried by the rod and adapted for swinging the gripping jaws upon movement of the rod relativeto the housing.

2. A fishhookincluding a housing, ears projecting laterally from the housing, gripping jaws pivotally connected -to the ears, a rod adapted for sliding movement relative to the housing, a spring positioned within the housing for normally urging the rod to its inner-most position, and a plate carried by the rod for swinging the gripping jaws upon movement of the rod relative to the housing.

3. A fishhook including a housing formed of a hollow section closed at one end and a removable member having a portion insertable in the oppositezend, gripping jaws pivotally connected to the removable member, a rod slidably mounted in; the removable. member, a spring. mounted-inthehousing, for-normally holding 75 a hollow section closed at one end and -.a removable member having a portion insertab-le in the opposite end, gripping jaws pivotally connected to the removable member of the nous ing, a rod slidably mounted in the removable member of the housing, a spring positioned within the housing and normally holding the rod in its inner-most position, and a plate carried by the rod, said plate having openings therein through which portions of the gripping jaws extend, the gripping jaws being swung by the plate upon movement of the rod relative to the hous ing.

5. A fishhook including a housing, a rod slidably mounted in the housing, a'spring normally urging the rod to its inner-most position, gripping jaws pivotally connected ,to the housing. and a plate carried by the slidablerod, said plate having openings therein through which portions of the gripping jaws extend, the gripping jaws. being swung by the plate upon movement of the tion, the gripping arms being swung into gripping position by movement of the rod and plate relative to the housing. 7. A fishhook including a housing, ears projecting laterally from the housing, gripping jaws pivotally connected to the ears, a rod slidablymounted relative to the housing, a spring :mounted in the, housing andnormally holding the rod in its inner-most position, a plate carried by the rod, and links connecting the plate with the gripping jaws, the gripping jaws being swung on their pivots upon movement of the plate relative to the housing.

8. A fishhook including a housing, ears projecting from the housing, gripping jaws pivotally connected to the ears and normally parallel with the housing, a rod slidably mounted relative to the housing, a spring for normally urging the rod to its inner-most position, a plate carried by the rod, and arcuate-shaped links connecting the plate and gripping jaws, the gripping jaws being swung from their parallel position with the housing into gripping position upon movement of the plate and rod relative to the housing.

9. A fishhook including a member to which a line is adapted to'be connected, jaws pivotally connected to the member, a rod slidableirelative to the member, a spring. surrounding the rod and normally holding the same in its inner-most po-- sition relative to the member, a plate carried by the rod and adapted for operating the gripping jaws upon movement of the rod relative to the member, and'a bait hook carried by the rod.

10. A 'fishhook including a housing, a removable member having a portion insertable inthe housing, gripping jaws pivotally connected to nermost position, and means connecting the grippivoted jaws.

the removable member, a rod slidably mounted in the removable member, a spring mounted in the housing for normally holding the rod in its inping jaws and the rod, said means being operable by movement of the rod relative to the hous 

